Monday, January 12, 2009

At Monash University Jiu-jitsu club the weekly class goes for two hours, including setting up and putting away equipment. Most classes follow a format that is quite standard within our federation, and serves as a template for a typical class:

Set-up: Lay out the mats, roll out the mat cover, put up the shomen, etc.

Opening ceremony: Everyone sits on there knees in their official spots, ceremonial words are spoken in Japanese, there is bowing.

Warm-up: No calisthenics or running, instead multiple individual break-falling exercises, which also teaches the students how to fall safely.

Balance-breaking exercise (in pairs): Before you can throw someone easily, you must first break his or her balance. This is a formal exercise that develops this capability. A bit like dancing, but both partners get a chance to lead (and follow).

Throwing practice (in pairs): Students break off into pairs. The instructor demonstrates a throw or series of throws. The students engage in cooperative practice, alternating throwing and being thrown. The instructor circulates around the class between demonstrations, helping pairs of students.

Restraint and control (in pairs): Similar to throwing practice, but the instructor demonstrates joint-locking and other standing grappling techniques.

Groundwork practice (in pairs): Similar to the previous paired practice, but now the action takes place at ground-level.

Groundwork randori (in pairs): Competitive practice in which each person tries to best his partner by applying immobilizations, arm-locks and strangulation techniques. A double-tap indicates submission.

Cool-down: Students line up in order of grade and go through a sequence of rolling break-falls.

Closing ceremony: Similar to the opening ceremony, different Japanese words, more bowing.

Brief Q&A: Questions, answers, and announcements

Pack-up: Put everything away, get changed, go home.

Within this format there is opportunity to reinforce the foundations of the system through repeated practice, plus scope for variety and challenge. The instructor will vary the techniques practiced in each section, and the duration of the sections from week-to-week.

Sometimes particular training sections may be shortened omitted, so that others may be lengthened or included. Sometimes special subjects are substituted. Examples of these include:

3
comments:

Anonymous
said...

How can you consider striking or self-defense applications special given the fact you’re teaching jiu-jitsu, a pure self-defense art? Shouldn’t they be an integral or even primary part of your curriculum? I’ve always been taught to use atemi before attempting any type of grappling technique to loosen up the attacker and make him more docile, to me this is good practice and common sense since it’s rather hard to lock or throw a powerful, resisting individual. From which Japanese ryu does your style descend?

Good point. You're pointing to a shortcoming of my description rather than our system, though: atemi is integral to our curriculum and practice, but admittedly I haven't described it as such.

In regular jiu-jitsu training, while we don't usually practice striking in isolation, there's still a lot of it going on. When we come up from the ground following ukemi, we strike; after executing most throws, we strike; for self-defence: when we're grabbed we strike before applying other techniques.

Good point. You're pointing to a shortcoming of my description rather than our system, though: atemi is integral to our curriculum and practice, but admittedly I haven't described it as such.

In regular jiu-jitsu training, while we don't usually practice striking in isolation, there's still a lot of it going on. When we come up from the ground following ukemi, we strike; after executing most throws, we strike; for self-defence: when we're grabbed we strike before applying other techniques.